A True Hero
by EnnaBurning
Summary: A true hero indeed.


**Hey everyone! This is my second one-shot on FF and I hope that everybody likes this as much as they did my Maximum Ride one-shot (which is totally awesome and should definitely be read after this). **

**Disclaimer: Falling Skies is 100 percent not mine. If it was then Drew Roy would have by now fallen for me and asked for my hand in marriage numerous times. Well, a sixteen year old girl can dream right?**

Running had become a way of life for me, Lourdes Halloway. Before the Skitter's arrival I lived a simple life. A light jog in the morning, a hot chocolate on the way to school, a few hours of analyzing rare 18th century diseases and the ways modern medicine have made the world better, and home for a phone call to Dad who's still mourning Mom's death after five years and a healthy dinner.

Now, simple life consisted of an early morning jog behind a perimeter of armed men and over-turned cars. An afternoon full of Hello Kitty band-aids and secret Skitter dissections, and a night over flowing with big groups of adults and children yelling over one another to be heard in the loud, echoing, elementary gym room. Not to mention a few minutes of pining over a boy who still mourned the loss of his girlfriend, who was taken by the Skitters just three weeks prior.

Hal Mason. What can I say about him? Except for the fact that he's really bad at noticing when people are staring at him from across a room? He's really . . . Amazing. He's tall, and strong, and not afraid to voice his opinion. He's a great scavenger and a pretty nice shot. He's unafraid to sacrifice himself for the people he loves and cares for. I would fall into the latter category, I'm not exactly his bride-to-be or anything. I actually think that his love for Karen has clouded him from seeing all the attention that the female half of our resistance is paying him. Really, even the married women take a moment to truly notice him.

"Hey Lourdes," Hal's voice brings me out of my love sick stupor.

"Oh, hi Hal. What's up?" I ask trying my hardest not to swoon. I'm not usually this mushy, sorry.

"Not much. Actually I was wondering if you and Anne had found out anything more about the harnesses," he replies while taking the seat across from me with his dinner plate. "I found Ben jumping rope the other day."

"Okay . . ."

"Well, he had a timer with him. It . . . It was at two hours and forty minutes and he said that he might have accidentally started it before he went out but . . ."

"Hal, you know that the harness healed kids-"

"Yeah, but he wasn't sick or hurt! He was normal, he even had all of his shots up to date! That . . .Thing! It made him . . . Superhuman," he stood up suddenly and stormed out of the gym.

I woke up in the middle of the night, sweating and terrified. I decided to go to the infirmary for some sleeping pills that I knew would keep the nightmares away. Now, you can imagine my surprise when I walked into the room to find Hal bent over a counter quietly sobbing.

"Hal . . . Are, are you . . . Okay?" I asked silently.

"It's hopeless isn't it? Finding her?"

"Is that why your crying? Because you miss her?"

"No," he said. "I'm crying because I don't miss her. And that makes me feel sick. They attacked us, they took her! And I'm just . . . Over it. I mean, how . . . Disgusting is that? She's probably harnessed, heck! She could be dead for all I know! But . . . I just can't bring myself to be anything other than just a little bit sad."

"Oh, Hal. No, it's . . . It's okay, your just . . ."

"You don't even know what to say. You hate me, you can't even find the will to pretend to feel bad for me. I'll just . . . Go," He sounded so dejected, so . . . Broken. I was afraid that he might do something rash, like hurt himself.

"Hal! Stop, wait a minute. Where are you going? What are you going to do?" I asked worriedly.

"You don't want me here, around you, I know you don't. So I'm leaving. I'm leaving you alone."

"Hal! Stop! Your scaring me," I yelled, grabbing his arm and pulling him back into the room. Into my arms. I had started crying when he tried to walk out the door and now I was wetting his shirt with my tears. "Why would you say that? Of course I want you here, I love you!"

I'm not exactly sure why I said that. Or when my gnawing crush had turned into full blown un-requited love. Hal was struggling to get out of my arms, murmuring words that made no sense. Telling me that I couldn't love a monster like him. A monster? No. A true hero. But how could I convince him? I did the only thing I could. I stood up on the very tips of my toes . . . And kissed him.

He froze for only a moment before I felt all of the tension leave his body. And then he kissed me back. A true hero indeed.


End file.
